Customers prioritize affordable lanterns
In the days leading up to Mid-Autumn Festival, lantern business locations in Ho Chi Minh City are starting to become busier. However, purchasing power is differentiated as consumers are increasingly focusing on selling prices and prioritizing compact and easy-to-use models.
Ms. Le Ngoc Linh (living in Linh Xuan ward) said that lanterns are usually only used for a short time during the Mid-Autumn Festival, so the selling price is one of the factors she considers when buying.
This year, I see that the price of lanterns is not too high, about 20,000 VND is enough to buy a lantern, the designs are also quite diverse, so there are more choices" - Ms. Linh said.
Records at some lantern selling points show that mini models are attracting buyers' attention. This is also a product group with easy-to-reach prices, suitable for the psychology of economical spending on seasonal items.
On Luong Nhu Hoc street, Mr. Kha Vinh Tuong - a lantern trader - said that the prices of some products this year increased slightly due to increased import prices from wholesalers. The common increase ranges from a few thousand to about 10,000 VND per product, depending on the type.
Among the product groups being sold at the store, mini lanterns have better purchasing power. Traditional lanterns have quite diverse prices, about 25,000-150,000 VND/piece, depending on the design and size" - Mr. Tuong said.
However, Mr. Tuong assessed that the number of customers this year is not equal to the same period last year. In the context that purchasing power is not really vibrant, low-priced, small-sized products are having an advantage in reaching buyers.
Handicrafts must be discounted to retain customers
If in the retail stage, the price of some types of lanterns increases according to input costs, then at handicraft production facilities, pressure is reflected in the opposite direction.
Mr. Nguyen Dinh Chien - a craftsman in Phu Binh lantern village (Hoa Binh ward) - said that artisans are facing increasing pressure from industrial products.
Previously, a lantern cost about 22,000 VND, but now artisans only dare to sell it for about 17,000-18,000 VND/piece.
Price reduction does not mean reduced production costs. With handmade lanterns, the time and effort of the craftsman are still difficult-to-cut costs. Therefore, price reductions are mainly aimed at keeping customers and maintaining output during the peak season.
According to Mr. Chien, mass-produced industrial goods have advantages in output, cost and supply capacity. Meanwhile, handmade lanterns require a lot of time and labor for each stage, so it is very difficult to compete if buyers put the selling price factor first.
